Escaping the Past
by BookWormNiri
Summary: NaruSasu High School AU. Yaoi When Naruto tries to escape his past and start over in a new school he realizes that this new beginning might lead to more then just new friends, but love as well.
1. Chapter 1

**Escaping the Past Chapter 1**

**Warning: Yaoi as in boy love so if you don't like then get the hell out of here NOW, AU ( Alternate Universe, in this case High School)  
Characters/Pairing: NaruSasu, implied Kiba/Shino, Gaara/???**

**Rating: PG for this Chapter. M later.  
Chapter Summary: Naruto is late for the first day of High School and has to sit beside Sasuke. Surprisingly the usually silent Sasuke actually talks to the blond.**

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Rolling over again in bed, the blond haired middle school student - no wait, he's now a high school student – slowly begins to wake up from his usual deep sleep.

Naruto shifts in his messy bed once more, making the fluffy blanket draped over his head fall off his bed. The sudden loss of heat startles him awake and he quickly opens his eyes. Only to shut them just as quickly thanks to the unusually bright sun steaming through the crack between his thick orange curtains.

_Aghhh….whats with the sun today?...its SOOOO FREAKING bright. _

Upon thinking this Naruto realized that the position of the sun reminds him of a weekend when he wakes up later then usual. This thought in turn reminds him that today is MOST definitely NOT a weekend but his first day of high school.

While thinking this over Naruto rolls over and off by the bed. He then half crawles, half stumbles into the miniature kitchen that can't even fit a table. And realizes that here too, the sun seemed way too bright for an early morning….and way too high in the sky to be assaulting the kitchen directly.

_Wait…why is it so high_ -finally realizing Naruto panics - _Don't tell me I OVERSLEPT!!!???_

Now fully awake he runs to the bedroom/ living room once more to stare at the wall where the clock was hanging….

…..

………

…………_9:30!!!!!!! WHAT?????_

_School started half an hour ago!!!!!! And I'm still here and NOT READYYYYY!!!!_

Not bothering with food he rushed to the bathroom to quickly slash water on his still sleepy face and tries without success to manage his bed-head hair, lastly he brushed his teeth before rushing out of the bathroom, getting dressed quickly in the standard school uniform, grabbing his backpack and running out the door.

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Slipping past the large double doors leading to Konoha High School, Naruto cursed at himself for the hundredth time for being late on his first day, for forgetting to put the alarm clock on, for not getting to sleep earlier and therefore waking later then he would normally, for…JUST BEING LATE!!!! _Aghhh…. I can't believe this. I have the worst luck ever. _

Now, not only does the blond student have to deal with all the stupid names, rumors, and jokes about his appearance which is definitely not normal with bright blond hair, blue eyes that are quite uncommon and most of all, the weird markings on his cheeks but also with unnecessary attention for being late.

True, the jokes and murmurs that he used to get when he was younger have subsided as he began to leave a mark and gain acknowledgement from those around him. But that was all in his previous school all the way across the city in the more shadier parts of town. No doubt the kids of this school, which was know for its elite standards as well as high population of students with parents who where either famous, rich, or in politics, would have no clue who he was.

And in a way that was what Naruto had wanted when he decided to go here, to forget about his past an to start over. For the sake of a new beginning he was more then willing to go through the trouble of making friends all over gain.

He sprinted down the hall to where he remembered his locker being from the short guide of the school he had last week when he registered, and quickly spun his combination. Stuffing everything in it and leaving his backpack empty, except a couple of necessary notebooks, Naruto caught his appearance in the little mirror on the locker door and scowled.

_AGHHH….I look like shit, especially my hair. _

Grabbing a small bottle of hair jell that he always kept in his bag Naruto slammed his locker shut and quickly went in search of the nearest washroom.

The men's washroom was fairly unremarkable, if not even a little dirty but it had a decent full body mirror and that's all that mattered. Like always, it only took him a moment to fix his bed ridden messy hair into their usual spikes. He easily slipped the small bottle into the front pocket of the black pants while straitening out the rest of the black uniform that he had fixed up after first getting it to have a ruffled collar on the jacket which he left open showing the thinner then normal black tie and to have the material on the inside done in orange. Feeling more or less presentable Naruto strolled out of the washroom and quickly head to his first class, homeroom.

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Sasuke schooled his mildly surprised expression into his usual calm nonchalant I-don't-care stare as he observed what was happening in the front of the class.

Just moments before a bright-blond student had literally burst into the classroom and was now apologizing to Iruka-sensei, their homeroom teacher. Sasuke didn't want to admit but the blonds entrance had startled him and now he couldn't help but feel intrigued not only by the loud entrance of the blond but also the unorthodox appearance. He noted once again as the energetic boy introduced himself as Uzumaki Naruto that his hair was almost unnaturally blond and he sported a pair of bright blue eyes that seemed to light up as he smiled at the class. Sasuke also couldn't help but notice that the blond was probably the same height as him but more solidly build. He had to admit the blond was good looking. Sasuke had long since accepted that he was gay and decided to indulge himself by picturing what the blond would look like in less clothing.

"I guess, you'll have to sit beside Uchiha Sasuke for now. Feel free to change seats tomorrow. We have no specific seating arrangement for the first week." Iruka-sensei told the blond, making Sasuke snap out of his thoughts at the mention of his name.

The blond turned towards him as he walked down the isle to the empty seat beside Sasuke. Sasuke managed to keep his expression even, while his insides where flipping thanks to the close proximity of the blond boy. He really couldn't decide whether having Naruto sit beside him was a blessing or a curse.

Oblivious to the inner turmoil in Sasuke's head the blond sat down and turned to Sasuke with a large smile plastered on his face. He really needed some reassurance that he hadn't made a complete fool of himself by being late and Sasuke was the nearest person to ask.

"Hey, Sasuke right?" he casually asked the dark-haired pale boy, who he grudgingly had to admit was good-looking. "What did I miss?" Naruto posed a simple question that he hoped would be answered just as casually and without any mention of his lateness.

Sasuke snapped out of his daydreams once again as he heard his name from the blonds lips and couldn't help but glance at them. He caught himself in time to make it seem like he was just looking the blond up and down in a friendly manner as if asserting him, hoping the blond wouldn't see the lust in his eyes. Really you couldn't blame him, Naruto was not only attractive but also seemed to radiate a kind of energy that drew people to him.

Surprising both himself and everyone else in the room his lips curved up into a small smile as he answered. "Yeah, I'm Sasuke, dobe. And don't worry, all you missed was an incredibly boring welcome speech by the principal over the P.A. and some sheets handed out about safety - all bullshit. No worries."

That has to be the most he has spoken to any person at once in the last …donno…couple years. Some of the other people in the room also seemed taken back by Sasuke's talkative mood considering that he only exchanged a couple of words here and there with other boys his age and tended to totally ignore the female population who always swarmed around him. Last time a girl tried to sit beside him he first glared at her until class started and then literally turned his chair to face the window so that his back was to her. The poor girl cried for days, but at least that kept the rest of them away from him.

Naruto on the other hand was new and didn't know any of the other kids from middle school so he wasn't aware that he just caused a small miracle and instead of basking in the glory of making Uchiha Sasuke talk he got mad over the name calling.

"What did you call me teme? I'll have you know that unlike the rest of you rich bastards I had to actually study to get into this school." He angrily whispered why glaring at the raven, clearly expressing his irritation by sending a set of names back at Sasuke.

"Well I couldn't tell by the looks of if. You're late on the first day, and what's with the bleached hair and….did you mess with the uniform as well?" Sasuke meant all that to come out as in insult but he couldn't help the little bit of admiration that leaned into his voice as he noticed the changes made to the uniform. The changes themselves weren't anything exciting but the fact that the blond incorporated them so well that it you couldn't tell the standard black uniform was changed at all was quite interesting. Sasuke noted the orange material lining the inside of the uniform and how the collar seemed a little ruffled making it look more natural and less stiff when left open then on a standard uniform. Leaving the Jacket open let Sasuke see that the standard black tie was also changed to be thinner. And the sleeves where a little longer then his own and instead of a black cuff they where smoothed out with a pin holding the white sleeves of the shirt underneath folded over them in place. The little changes really made a larger difference.

Sasuke laughed a little inside when he noticed his own observations, sure he was a gay guy, meaning he cared about his appearance just a little more then any typical high school boy should but here he was practically drooling over how good the blonde made the stiff black uniform look.

"Looks good doesn't it? Eh, teme? And I'll have you know that other then being late, which I have a perfectly reasonable explanation for, I haven't broken any rules. My hair is natural, and so are my eyes, before you ask. As for the uniform…well I made the changes myself after reading the fine print of the dress code and I assure you these changes are perfectly legit." Naruto answered the accusation with a bit of pride knowing that it would throw the dark-haired boy off.

And it did." Wait, You're telling me that you did that yourself?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah, jealous much?"

"No…just never expected a guy, _and_ especially one like you to be able to pull something like _that_ off." Sasuke stated without thinking as he motioned to the uniform.

"So you admit that it looks good. Haha, well seeing how you're the first person I talked to here I'll make you a deal." Naruto proposed happily, forgetting all about Sasuke's insults and only focusing on the unintended compliment.

Sasuke was a bit caught off guard by the sudden change of attitude but figured he might as well hear the blond idiot out. "Hn?" He raised an elegant eyebrow in question.

"First of all I have a question. Do you know your way around the school well enough?" Naruto hoped he did because then he would have to go looking for another person to con into helping his around the school.

"Yeah…" Sasuke answered cautiously, guessing where this was going to lead.

"Okay, I'll fix up your uniform to match your style better if you help me out for the next couple of days around the school. And maybe tell me a bit about some of the other students and teachers. So, how about it, teme?" Naruto added the name at the end in a casual fashion making it seem like a nickname instead of an insult.

Sasuke thought this for a moment but he figured he came up on top if he went along with it. Not only will he get a chance to hang out with the energetic blond that he was now developing a crush on, even if he didn't want to admit it but also get a few awesome changes to his uniform.

"Fine." He finally agrees and turns back to the front of the class where Iruka-sensei was finishing up his own little welcome speech, so not to give the blond the satisfaction of knowing that he was happy with the deal as well.

Naruto still managed to catch a hint of smile on the raven's face but decided he was going to spare Sasuke the embarrassment of pointing it out and also turned to the front.

Then sat in silence for the last few minutes of class and waited for the bell to ring to dismiss them. As soon as it rung all the kids in the class sprang up to leave, Naruto included but as he was about to run away he caught himself and turned to Sasuke with a mischievous smile on his face.

"You can start delivering your end of the deal now by helping me get to the next class. Which happens to be…." Naruto slung his dark orange backpack with dark blue stitching off his shoulder and rummaged through it looking for the yellow slip of paper with his timetable, finally finding it he scanned down the list "History with…Jiraiya-Sensei. Weird name. So, what do you have teme?"

Sasuke looked down at his own yellow slip, "History as well."

"Eh? We have the same class. Awesome!" Before Sasuke could react, Naruto reached over the table and grabbed Sasuke's timetable out of his hands and began comparing their classes.

"We have homeroom, duh, together, and also History second period then we split up for 3rd.…. lunch together and then we also have English together last." Naruto mumbles to himself." Hey, teme. You have everything but 3rd period with me."

"Che" is the only reply Naruto gets. "Come one then dobe, don't want to be late _again_, do you?" With that Sasuke grabs his timetable from Naruto and walks past the blond ad out of the classroom, while ignoring the bewildered stares of his other classmates.

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**A/N:**** Next chapter - Introduces the other characters and Naruto gets to meet Gaara in last period English. Naruto freaks out when he sees Gaara because he seems to know Gaara from before? What's their connection?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Escaping the Past Chapter 2**

**Warning: Yaoi as in boy love so if you don't like then get the hell out of here NOW, AU ( Alternate Universe, in this case High School)  
Characters/Pairing: NaruSasu, implied Kiba/Shino, Gaara/???**

**Rating: PG for this Chapter. ****M later.  
Chapter Summary: Lunch period - Naruto finds out a few interesting facts about his new friend. ****Both Naruto and Sasuke try to sort out their conflicting emotions, feelings.**

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Sasuke stared out the window of his third period Science class. He already knew most of the material so he didn't have to listen to the teacher give a very snide welcome speech. Actually he didn't want to look at the teacher period, cause _even he_ had to admit the older man was pretty intimidating looking with dark long hair and unnaturally yellow eyes that where surrounded with dark purple eye shadow and eyeliner. _Almost looks like a snake_ Sasuke thought as he looked at the teacher from behind his bangs and then when back to observing the grass grow outside the window of the class.

Also he didn't really want to see the confused expressions some of the kids in the class kept throwing him every once in a while. He knew they where confused by his sudden attachment to the new blond kid - Naruto, but even he couldn't explain that, so he opted for looking out the window and ignoring everyone. This, the other kids seem to be able to deal with since it is how has been acting for years.

Sasuke sighed once again at the strange feeling of not having the blond fidget excitingly in the seat next to him while asking a ton of questions about…well…everything. He answered as many as he could but still, how was he supposed to know whether or not their homeroom teacher Iruka-sensei had a pet ferret. Honestly how did the blond even come up with that question?

At that thought, Sasuke let a small smile appear on his face; thankfully it was out of the view of the other people in the class because he didn't need another onslaught of weird looks just now. He would admit that Naruto was funny, even when he didn't mean to be and…well….Naruto was hot. Plain and simple and Sasuke had no problem admitting that too….it was the other weird feeling he was getting that he didn't want to admit to. He told himself for the nth time since the two had parted ways before third period that he did not _like_ the blond idiot. Sure being around Naruto made him feel comfortable and relaxed and he generally enjoyed the company of the blond but that didn't mean he _liked_ him.

_Honestly who am I kidding…I like him and I know it._

There really is no denying the facts even for Sasuke (and Sasuke could probably deny murder even when he was found standing over the victim with the knife in hand). He hadn't talked that much even at home to his brother in months and definitely never in school. And here he was sitting here missing the conversation.

Nothing he could do about it anyway…for a number of reasons. First of all he was pretty sure Naruto was straight, even if he had a better then normal fashion sense. And second, even if Naruto was gay it was unlikely that he would like Sasuke.

Sure it was true that Sasuke had MANY admirers, mostly girls but probably some guys too. BUT, they all wanted him for his looks or where attracted to the whole hard to get attitude, none of them really _knew_ Sasuke and that meant that none of them really liked him for _him_.

Sighing Sasuke lightly shock his head to stop himself from running through hundreds of scenarios where Naruto either liked him back or he told Naruto that he liked him and got rejected. Really what was the point….Sasuke had a feeling he wouldn't be able to predict anything when it comes to the blond. Sasuke had been surprised enough times this morning by Naruto and didn't even want to try to predict Naruto's actions. Naruto seemed to talk and do everything without thinking…as far as he could tell and well Naruto mind must work in strange ways for Sasuke to be so utterly confused by it.

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On the other side of the building Naruto sat in his own third period class and also thought about the morning activities. Taping the pencil against his chin for a moment Naruto thought back to what happened in first and second period. Well he made his first…friend, because no matter how many times he insulted the raven, Sasuke was a friend. This had to mean that he was doing pretty good for his first day of high school. Sure he was late…but after meeting Sasuke who was now his 'guide' around school thanks to their deal, he relaxed began to realize that highs school was the same as middle school. Well maybe except the part that his middle school - filled with delinquents, druggies, and gang members - is about as different as you can get from this posh high school. But hey kids are all kids…just here the priorities where different.

Remembering their deal, Naruto grinned and brought his pencil down to the bottom of the handout and started to draw. If anyone looked over it would just look like pointless doodles but Naruto was actually drawing hands wearing different cuffs as he planned what he would do to Sasuke's uniform. He was pretty happy that Sasuke had taken Naruto's hobby with only minimal teasing because no one else, not even his dad, knew about his obsession with clothes. And it wasn't even just clothes…it was all kids of accessories, gloves, hats, boots etc…most that he bought from thrift stores and altered. He knew that he could probably dress a small army with his clothes. And probably dress them well.

He hadn't told anyone in the past, since it never really came up, and he hadn't planned on telling anyone now that he changed schools but it had kinda come out when Sasuke noticed his uniform. He had to take credit. Well either way, as long as Sasuke didn't turn on him and spread some bizaro rumor about him, it was nice to have someone to talk to about it.

_Maybe he'd let me dress him up after our deal as well. He's good looking enough that I wouldn't mind. Haha I doubt anyone would mind getting into his clothes._

Realizing what he was thinking Naruto shook his head…._AGHH, stupid double meanings._

He tried to get his mind to stop visualizing Sasuke in some of the clothes he had at the back of his clothes…especially those black leather pants. _AGHHH…stupid brain and stupid clothes obsession. I must truly be deprived to think of Sasuke that way….need to get laid…and fast before my brain moves on to the mesh shirts because that will just be too much._

Naruto looked at the teacher in charge of his Media Studies class. She was loudly introducing herself as Miss Anko and seemed to totally skip over the usual safety procedure/ welcome to high school speech and go straight to the actual media. Naruto quickly decided that he liked her even if it was obvious that she had ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyper Disorder) or some other mental disorder.

_Maybe she's just plain crazy._

Either way her hyper behavior lead to a very entertaining search for the disk she left somewhere on her desk, or more like on her corner of the room because there was not only a desk but at least two shelves, a couple drawers and what looked like hampers filled with not only clothes but other odds and ends. The whole corner the room was covered in junk and looked well lived in. At this point Naruto wouldn't be surprised if there was a sleeping bag somewhere around there.

Not thinking about what he was doing he leaned in on the person sitting beside him and stated his opinion, "Probably has a sleeping bag stuffed somewhere in there."

"And a rice cooker too."

The easy going reply had startled Naruto into realizing what he was doing. He hadn't even noticed he said that out loud until he heard the reply from the parka wearing boy beside him.

Either way the reply made him grin like an idiot. Not only because it was funny but also because this meant that he got another person to talk to.

"Definitely," Naruto agreed, "By the way I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"I'm Inuzuka Kiba"

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Naruto followed Kiba to lunch. They had automatically become friends and talked the whole class through about everything from what they thought about the teachers, to food, to pranks they pulled. And as they walked into the lunch room both laughing at some joke that probably wasn't even that funny, it seemed like they had known each other their whole lives.

At least it seemed that way until Kiba steered them to a table at the back of the room. The table was filled with people, none of whom knew Naruto. And with just a glance Naruto was the new kid once more.

_More introductions….agh, might as well get it over with and more on to the akward sitting in silence bit_ Naruto thought as they stopped at the end of the table.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Kiba, "Okay, guys this is Naruto. The miracle kid from this morning that I mentioned to some of you. He's a pretty cool guy so he's going to be sitting with us."

_Miracle kid?_

"What?...Miracle?" naruto was defiantly confused now.

Not even bothering to explain Kiba started to introduce the other people sitting at the table.

"That's Nara Shikamaru" Pointing to the guy with the bushy ponytail slouched in his chair. Even before talking to him Naruto could tall this guy was lazy.

"Aburame Shino" The guy whose face was covered by a pain of dark glasses and a higher then normal collar. _Okay, kinda creppy with the face covering but otherwise this guy seemed pretty okay too._

"Hyuga Hinata" A shy looking girl who had her face hidden by her dark blue almost black bangs. She looked up at Naruto slightly as her name was said and blushed.

"Akimichi Choji" A messy haired redhead guy wearing a bandana and eating a bag of chips. Naruto looked at the chips for a moment and noticed that this guy was also a bit chuddy but not fat….actually he hadn't noticed anyone at this school look fat…probably some weird rich kid thing.

"On the other side is Haruno Sakura." A pink haired wearing a dark red shirt. Naruto looked again….definitely pink hair. _I like that…must take guts to have hair like that._

"And Yamanaka Ino" A purple clad girl with blond hair pulled up in a high ponytail that came down to her mid-back. "You can sit down next to her." Kiba instructed and Naruto slid into the seat, noticing that Ino smelled like flowers.

Kiba sat in his other side and at the end of the introduction everyone got oddly quiet.

Remembering what was said earlier Naruto tried questioning again, "You said something about a miracle." He reminded Kiba.

"Yup, you're the miracle kid, You made Uchiha talk." Kiba stated this plainly, leaving no room for objections but lots of room for questions.

"Why is that a miracle?"

It was a simple question really but it was met with a whole variety of answers from all over the table, mostly from the two girls on his left though.

Naruto tried to understand what all of them where saying but after getting the most obvious details, he lost patience. Using his best serious tone he growled out, "Shut UP!!!" and everyone did.

_Okay so maybe I was a little too forceful…and I just met them too. Damn_

"Um, sorry but I just couldn't listen to all of you at once. So far I got that Sasuke is anti-social and doesn't usually talk. Anything else?" This also was a very simple statement and question but unlike last time he just got blank states for a moment until Kiba reluctantly answered.

Kiba scratched his head, "No, that's about it…BUT you don't seem to realize the level of anti-socialism Sasuke possesses. I've known him for 3 years, all through middle school and I think he must have said 5 words to me at the most, no exaggeration."

"Maybe he just didn't like you." Naruto supplied in a bored tone, obviously not convinced.

This time it was Sakura who intervened. "Not just Kiba, but everyone, especially girls. I think he must have said three words to me in my life and I knew him since _elementary_ school! And I…umm, WE never even saw him talk normally to other people either so it isn't just us."

Okay, at this Naruto got a bit worried but still he couldn't believe it fully because… well…Sasuke talked normally to him this morning right?

"Ummm….maybe he's over it?"

This time it was Shikamaru. "Yeah, cause he just decided that after all those years of ignoring the world he was going to be normal and make friends?" That was a bit heavy on the sarcasm but it seemed to get the point across to Naruto at least.

"So….he talked to me….but not to other people…okay…" Naruto was very confused now but then who wouldn't be.

Naruto knew that this revelation must hold some deeper meaning but…he really didn't want to think about the fact that his first friend here is actually some sort of non-talking legacy. Sure, Naruto liked being acknowledged and respected, it was what he lived for, but he didn't want attention that was given because he got lucky, or because of coincidence or just because of something that he did not control. And this was quickly getting more and more out of control.

_Too much drama for my first day._

"So troublesome" Shikamaru didn't even bother to hide his boredom at the whole conversation and yawned.

_Yeah I agree._

Thinking this Naruto quickly put the information he gained into a little box and tossed into the back of his brain to think about later. For now he needed to leave the table because unlike Shikamaru who got bored of the topic already the others, especially Sakura and Ino where not at least bored and Naruto knew that given the chance he would be barricaded with a hundreds questions. Deciding to spare himself, Naruto grabbed his lunch and backpack and stood up quickly.

"I have to go now to….do homework" he knew that sounded incredibly fake…and no one would believe him but he really wanted to get out of there.

Naruto bolted from the table and out the side door leading to the quad and was gone from sight within seconds. Leaving quite a few people staring after him with semi confused, semi astonished expressions. (Not Shikamaru cause he's too smart and not Shino because he doesn't show emotion.)

As soon as Naruto got outside into the fresh air of the fairly large quad area that was used mostly for lunch, he felt instantly better. Being away from the crazy harpies (Sakura and Ino) and Kiba who where obsessed with the miracle of Sasuke talking also helped his mood.

_Honestly_ a part of his brain reasoned, _Did you need to run out, they seemed like nice people and all they wanted to know about was some guy you met this morning and hung out for a couple of hours with._

Reasoning like this made Naruto feel guilty as depriving them of what they wanted to know but he didn't know why Sasuke talked to him and even if he did….Naruto realized that even if he did he still wouldn't tell.

_Crap, I'm getting too attached, the bastard probably already forgot about me and here I am saving his ass from harpies._

But even as he thought this he began to realize just _how_attached he was getting. Already his brain kept repeating to him that Sasuke was his friend, probably the first friend that he had in a long time since his previous friends didn't really count because…they never really knew him as just _himself_.

Naruto continued to debate in his head as he walked down the path that went towards the shade of the trees. _Okay so I consider Sasuke my first friend in a long time and don't want to talk about his stupid problems not because of denial but because I believe that rumors are horrible. _And in_ was _true that he hated rumors, being the target of enough of them in his life. He truly didn't need them spreading now, not about him or his…friend.

Naruto continued to sort out his thoughts and ….FELL. Hard. On the grass beside a rather large oak tree. Tripping over a backpack. That belonged to….

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Sasuke sat outside, under one of the trees in the quad area and watched in amusement as the blond dobe walked towards him. Sasuke could tell that Naruto was lost in thought and for a moment hoped that it was about him. Realizing his train of thought he scoffed at himself for even thinking in such a ridiculous manner.

Naruto came closer and Sasuke wondered for a moment if he will be noticed but realized that _no he would not_ as Naruto passed within a one meter distance from him with no reaction. Sasuke allowed himself to feel disappointed for only a moment before turning away.

And then the dobe FELL. Hard on his face right beside Sasuke. Apparently tripping over something. A backpack. That belonged to Uchiha Sasuke.

Sasuke almost laughed at the sudden twist of fate that just when he thought Naruto would pass him he fell right into his lap. Well, almost into his lap.

And then he _did_ laugh at the dazed expression on Naruto's face as he tried to make sense of what happened.

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Naruto looked up and quickly refocused his eyes when he heard the laughter. And was surprised to find that instead of some kid laughing at his stupidity for tripping, it was Sasuke…..laughing at his stupidity for tripping. But somehow Naruto found that he didn't mind if it was the raven-haired boy who laughed. Actually it sounded nice, in comparison to the usual even voice or to the curt insults they've traded in the morning. And now Naruto couldn't help but laugh too.

To anyone passing by they would have looked like a pair of lunatics. Naruto looked odd enough sprawled across the grass, partway over the backpack and anyone that knew Sasuke would just think that the Uchiha finally snapped.

Sasuke caught himself laughing after a minute or so and just watched the blond boy continue to laugh for another good five minutes until his voice stopped working and he was just gasping air in an imitation of a laugh. When Naruto finally stopped laughing and looked up, Sasuke noticed that Naruto's face was a little flushed and eyes watering from all the laughter, and couldn't still a smile.

The smile only managed to catch Naruto of balance for a moment because he was getting more used to the ravens quick mood swings and the way the expressionless mask could disappear in an instant and be replaced with a smile or a growl…or a laugh.

Chuckling softly Naruto shifted on the grass, getting his feet untangled from the backpack and shuffling over so he was sitting in front of Sasuke who was leaning against the tree. "Hey," He simply said in acknowledgment, while grinning.

Sasuke replied easily, "Hello"

"Funny I should meet you here." Naruto relied in mock politeness.

"By funny, I assume you mean the part where you fell over my backpack." Sasuke taunted back.

"Teme, so that was _your_ backpack?"

"Hn." Sasuke confirmed.

Turning away a little Naruto took a deep breath though he wasn't as mad as he pretended, actually he found the whole situation more funny then maddening, but he wanted to confirm what he found out earlier and now he had a chance.

"Maybe it's true what they say about you. You certainly don't seem like a talkative person, actually from what I hear; you don't really talk at all."

Sasuke's face snapped up at that comment even if he knew he was being bated into talking about why he didn't talk much (at all) he really didn't want Naruto to think that he was anti-social…even though he was._ Agh…why did the blonde have to go and find that out. Now he won't leave me alone until he knows my life story, and then he'll probably just try to fix me. _

Naruto hurryingly continues as soon as he saw Sasuke's expression change to a mildly anxious one, reminding him of…well, himself just a couple years ago. "I don't really care about why you don't talk to the other kids. But I do want to know why you decided to talk to me."

Now_this_ certainly threw Sasuke off. Here was a person who wasn't trying to force the truth or even a well planned lie out of him so that they can fell like they know him or trying to help him socialize so that they could think of him as a friend. Here was a person who just accepted that he didn't talk and didn't push. Okay so maybe he wouldn't have to go to ignoring and avoiding the blond like he thought (though he wouldn't admit to be thinking of wanting to do this instead of confrontation - his pride wouldn't allow him to admit that).

"Umm….I….ahm." And surprisingly for the first time in a long time when he wanted to talk, to explain, or maybe to at least say something, he was left speechless.

Naruto noticed the hesitation there and decided to spare the other boy by changing the topic, "Umm, do you usually eat lunch out here?"

"Yes." Sasuke simply answered, relieved at the change of topic.

"And then what do you do?"

"Stay here until next period."

"Really, but lunch is more then an hour long! Don't you get bored?" Naruto almost wined. "Don't tell me you're one of the kids that do homework when they have free time."

"As a matter of fact I am." Sasuke again stated calmly and pulled a science notebook from his plain black backpack, since it was the only class he had homework in thanks to their weird-as-hell sadistic teacher, and flipped to a clean page.

"Hgn, Fine." Naruto tried to reply just as calmly but failed as a grin worked its way onto his face. He reached for his own bag and pulled out a tattered notebook. Lazily flipping the pages toward the back of the notebook, Naruto also looked for a clean page. Sasuke had just enough time to catch glimpses, that left him curious, of odd drawings, doodles, and a lot of pictures of what he assumed where clothes.

Finally settling on a relatively clean page that only had some unfinished hand poses drawn in the top right corner Naruto tilted the book up so that it rested on his now raised knees in a position that kept Sasuke from seeing the page and pulled out a pencil from the front pocket of his orange bag. Twirling his pencil in his hand once Naruto glanced up at Sasuke who seemed fixated on the blonde's knees where the top of the notebook poked out, and started to draw.

He drew the standard design for the uniform and then began to make small adjustments here and there. Smiling to himself as he noticed that Sasuke seemed to fidget, though really Sasuke's fidget was so calculated and unnoticeable that Naruto was surprised at himself for picking it up. _Ha! Guess the bastard is not as unreadable as he seems._

They continued in this matter for the remainder of the lunch period, Naruto drawing and redrawing different designs of the uniform and Sasuke doing his homework while fidgeting and trying not to look like he's fidgeting.

Five minutes before the period ended Sasuke gave up pretending not to notice Naruto drawing and closed his notebook. He carefully placed it back into his backpack and turned once again focusing his gaze on Naruto mess of spiky blond hair.

"Dobe, what's that?" Sasuke tried to make his question as inconspicuous and natural sounding as possible, hoping that he would be spared the embarrassment of admitting that he was interested.

No such luck though," What's what?" Naruto's grin widened as he faked ignorance to the dark-haired boys question.

:Hn, nothing dobe." Sasuke refused to be tempted and manipulated so easily suppressed his own curiosity and stood up. "We should go."

"Eh??...W-wait.." Naruto also scrambled to his feat as he realized that he lost to the raven. "Aghh…._fine_…you wanted to see this. Right?"

Sasuke continued to calmly walk down the path, refusing to give in and snatch the notebook from the blond. Instead he opted for calmly answering, "Yes."

"It's the designs for your uniform, remember the deal we made. I was going to show them to you anyway, no need to be so impatient." Naruto stated to Sasuke's back as he followed the raven down the path, still a bit disgruntled for being outwitted in their verbal battle.

Hearing Naruto's explanation had however snapped the raven out of his composed mood and he spun around and snatched the book from Naruto's grip. This at first had shocked Naruto but the shock gave away to a broad grin that split his face as he realized just how curious Sasuke was about his drawings.

Sniggering behind Sasuke's back he continued to follow the raven up the path towards the far building where the two would be having last period together. One of twice snatching glances over Sasuke's shoulder to see which drawings Sasuke was looking at and to judge Sasuke's reaction.

_Really I should be nervous, this is the first time anyone had looked though_that_ notebook but…it's Sasuke. I donno how to explain it even to myself but something about him just makes me feel calm, like I could be myself and would never have to worry about his opinion. While at the same time his opinion is also something that seems really important._

Within minutes they where already at the entrance of the building where their class would be held and Sasuke still hadn't said anything. He just continued to flip back and forth through the notebook as they walked in, up the stairs and into the classroom at the end of the 2nd floor hallway. Moving to the back of the class like always.

Sasuke finally paused and flipped the page a final time as if coming to a conclusion. Without looking back he informed the blond that was impatiently fidgeting behind him while burning a hole in his back, "I like this one," and handed the opened notebook back.

The sheet that Sasuke had opened to showed one of the modified uniforms that Naruto had been working on that day. The collar was also a bit higher then normal but held shut in this version the cuffs where made to extend all the way to the elbow and where secured with black bands that seemed to almost blend in with the other material of the jacket and where generally unnoticeable. The sided of the jacket also had small cuts added. The pants where made to sit low on the hips and cuffs where added at the bottom. Also some accessories where added. The tie for one was a totally unorthodox shape, being much thinner then usual and had a few chains hanging of it while the belt for the pants was changed fully, now had an interesting detailed belt buckle in the shape of a fan and a series or chains filled with small trinkets handing on the hip. And the more Naruto looked at the outfit the more the outfit seemed to fit Sasuke. _Heh, guess I should have expected him to choose this one over the one with the orange ordainments. _

Finally falling out of his daze Naruto looked around the half filled classroom they had just entered, his eyes scanning over the other students already there.

_Wait._He turned his head back trying to deny what his eyes where telling him but once again spotting the bright red hair. He stepped forward and the red haired boy turned his face, his emerald eyes made larger by the dark eyeliner surrounding them focused on Naruto's rigid form. The dark red outline the tattoo on his forehead blazed from underneath his messy bangs. Reminding Naruto of the ironic symbol of Love that was written there.

"I never expected to see you here, Naruto. Fox." Gaara added the calling at the end as if to mock the blond but Naruto didn't notice he was already freaking out about being found.

Naruto froze, _how could they have found me, I never told anyone I was moving or going to this school. HOW???_

_And why did they have to send him? Why Gaara of the Dessert??? _

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**A/N:**** Cliffhanger!!! Sorry but I couldn't resist. And this way I now have at least another week of not feeling guilty for taking too long to stage Naruto's and Gaara's encounter perfectly. That's what the next chapy will be about with some flashbacks and details of the story revealed.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Escaping the P****ast Chapter 3**

**Warning:** Yaoi as in boy love so if you don't like then get the hell out of here NOW, AU ( Alternate Universe, in this case High School), Mention of violence  
**Characters/Pairing**: NaruSasu, implied Kiba/Shino, Gaara/???, Shika/Temari( maybe. if I feel like doing any het)

**Rating**: PG for this Chapter. M later.  
**Chapter Summary:** Last period of his first day – Naruto meets Gaara who he has a connection with from _before._

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Naruto glances at the clock for the hundredth time since the beginning of class and fidgets in his seat. All he could think of was the redhead sitting a couple of rows in front of him, _Why is he acting like a student, Why isn't he making a move? Why HIM???_

Almost as if reading his mind, the redhead in question turns his head and fixes Naruto with an expressionless stare that had always unnerved Naruto because he could never interpret what the other boy was thinking. The trademark stare never changed either, no matter where Naruto met Gaara, be it on safe ground, during a fight, or even here in school.

The two tensed boys would have continued to stare at each other had it not been for the door to the class opening and their teacher strode in, twenty minutes late.

Even though Naruto wanted to keep his attention on Gaara he couldn't. The teacher was the most interesting he'd seen all day. Not only was he late for his own class but now he walked in carelessly, his nose stuck in orange book. As he got to the front he turned to the board and wrote in black letters "KAKASHI" while still reading his book. The students waited for him to continue to write his full name or to add sensei to the name on the board, but instead he just turned back to the class. Finally dropping the book on the desk he revealed his face. Not that there was much to reveal. He was wearing a high turtleneck or maybe a mask, because the collar came up to over his nose and his left eye was covered with a mop of silver hair that didn't match up with his youthful look. Everyone in the class, including Naruto had to agree that this had had to be the weirdest teacher they've met so far.

"My name is Kakashi. And you will all call me just 'Kakashi'." His visible eye scanned over the crowed, making it clear to everyone there that he didn't not want this rule to be broken.

Satisfied with the students' lack of argument he continued more cheerfully, "I'm your English teacher and you will all leave this classroom at the end of the semester with a new and improved English vocabulary if I can help it." The sentence seemed innocent enough but everyone in the class caught the gleam in their new sensei's eye and had to wonder just what they have gotten themselves into by joining this class.

Skipping over the rest of the introductions and welcome speech Kakashi picked up a stack of pages on his desk and passed them around the class. Making sure that everyone had a page he assigned their first assignment, "Everyone here has to read the short descriptive text I just gave out today and come in tomorrow ready to explain what is happening in the short story. If you are unsure of any of the words or how to properly use them, just underline them and we can discuss it tomorrow." With that said he flopped into his chair and picked up his orange book. Looking up at his confused class, "Well….Get to it."

Realizing now that Kakashi was incredible lazy, the class groaned at having work to do so early in the semester and started looking over their sheet.

The groans and scowls on the kids' faces quickly turned into embarrassed flushes as everyone tried to read through the complicated English text while still managing to pick up on the general theme; porn.

Naruto felt his face heat up and quickly turned the sheet over, unable to read anymore. Hoping to share his embarrassment he turned to Sasuke who was sitting beside him and gave a sheepish laugh. He was about to comment or crack a joke about their new sensei but at seeing the light blush coloring the raven's cheeks decided that there was no need to embarrass himself or his friend any further. Deciding instead to just turn back to face the front of the class Naruto sighed as a grin worked its way onto his face.

_What a weird (and perverted) teacher._

The smile on his face was quickly wiped away as he once gain caught sight of the redhead that's been plaguing his thoughts earlier and instead an uneasy frown appeared on his usually sunny face.

Since he obviously couldn't bring himself to work on his English assignment he opted for just sitting there for the remaining half hour and counting down the time until class ended. Counting down the time until his confrontation with Gaara.

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Sasuke had always been considered a genius but right now he really wished he wasn't because as he looked down on the sheet handed out to them all one more he realized that unlike everyone else in the class who could only understood the main idea, he could understand every. Little. Detail. Really not how he wanted to end his first day. Fighting his blush down Sasuke finally looked up first at his teacher who has action oblivious to the class' reaction and then as Naruto who seemed to have already got over his own embarrassment and had his eyes once again on the red-head near the front of the class. Sasuke had noticed Naruto's earlier anxious behavior and how his eyes seem to shift from the clock to the red-head. And as much as he wanted to just ignore it and continue talking to Naruto like normal, Naruto seemed to radiate an aura that said don't-talk-to-me. Sigh.

_Why is that red-head so important?_

As the class neared its end Sasuke noticed how Naruto seemed to fidget just a bit more and his eyes seem to be gravitate to the red head a little more often and he swore that as the clock counted down the last minute of class the seconds seem to last longer.

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BR-R-R-RINGGG!!!!!

The bell rang and Naruto was the first person up, hoping to catch Gaara before he left and figure out _why_ he was here. But as soon as he noticed that the red-head hadn't moved he forced himself to sit back down and wait some _more_.

Their teacher happened to be the second person up and he raced out of the classroom to god knows where leaving the rest of the kids to filter out on their own.

Sasuke didn't even notice the teacher leave as his eyes were planted firmly on the blond who in turn hadn't taken his eyes of the red-head since the bell rang. Sasuke let out a frustrated sigh. He had been hoping that after they leave the class he would be able to talk to Naruto again….guess not. Standing up Sasuke gathered his stuff and looked at Naruto again. Only to find out that Naruto hadn't even looked his way and was still staring straight ahead.

_What's so special about that guy anyway? _Sasuke couldn't stop the anger that bubbled in his as he was continuously ignored, glaring at the blond now he let out a "Hn." and strode out of the class not bothering with a proper goodbye.

Naruto for his part barely registered the ravens glare and instead his eyes followed Gaara's every movement. The red-head had gotten up and was packing his stuff away slowly. By the time he was done and had placed his own red and black backpack on the table he and Naruto where the only people left in the class. That was exactly what he wanted. Turning around he fixed his expressionless stare on Naruto and walked towards him with slow measured steps. Naruto had also got up from his seat and made a step towards the red-head.

"Gaara." Naruto growled out, trying to keep his raging emotions under control.

"Naruto" Gaara greeted the blond for the second time that day.

Letting his emotions spill out Naruto almost yelled, "Why are you HERE? Can't you just leave me alone. I resigned. RESIGNED."

'I know. I am not here _for_ you especially. More correctly put – I am here _because_ of you." Gaara explained in his usual weird way that made no sense to the blond.

"What? How does that make any kind of sense?_ Because_ of me? We are _enemies_ so unless you are here FOR me you should be somewhere far away."

Naruto honestly didn't understand what Gaara was getting at. They where enemies, have been for a couple years and should by all means still be enemies even though Naruto resigned and stepped down from the rankings. Naruto was no longer the leader of Fire, he had left that position to _him_. Gaara on the other hand was still a fighter of Sand. One of the best in fact. Naruto had a feeling that he would not have a chance against the other male if they fought here. This was not like their previous meetings where they would face off in the dead of night their best fighters behind them, fighting over territory, merchandize, honor, pride. _This was a school for god's sake. _And here he was_ alone. _Without_ his _protection

"I am not your enemy." Gaara stated with an even voice as if this was a fact. Naruto didn't believe him.

"YES YOU ARE!!!" he screamed. "I might have resigned but I know you - if that bastard Sasori, your so called leader though he never actually fights commanded you to come here, fight me, kill me. YOU would do it." Naruto continued to scream to Gaara.

At the accusation Gaara finally broke his stare and turned his head a little so that his bangs now fell away from his forehead and the tattoo was in plain view. "I am not your enemy." He let out in a whisper.

Naruto still caught the whisper and had to still himself from yelling again as he noticed the soft tremble run through Gaara's body. "How so?" He asked, still a little anger laced into his voice but at least he wasn't yelling.

Gaara answered still in a quite voice, "I left as well."

This was not the answer Naruto was expecting and he stared in astonishment as Gaara his mouth open in shock. Finally gaining some composure he choked out, "Why?"

"Because you left." Gaara looked up at the blond only to see confussion in the blue eyes and continued explained. "You and I are the same…and when you left I realized that I could leave too. It never knew someone can leave. Never knew it was possible but _you_ did it…. so I followed."

"But..Sasori, he let you. I was the leader so I could do whatever I wanted. Leave if I wanted, but you…you where the best fighter Sand had, and Sasori _let_ you leave?" Naruto needed some answers. He had kept away from that world all through out summer while he settled in this area and prepared to go to school here. He did everything he could to loose touch with those from before so he didn't know what was going on in Fire or Sand.

"No. I took his position from him and then left." Gaara explained in a more even tone, once again fixing his eyes on the blond. "I killed him."

Naruto wasn't as shocked at this as the fact that Gaara left , "You finally did it, Huh? I always knew you where better then him." Naruto let out a dry chuckle. "Guess the only thing that I left unfinished was finished by you. I always wanted Sasori to fall, he was a horrible leader."

An awkward silence fell over the two males as Naruto processed everything that happened._ Gaara isn't my enemy. He's the same as me, a refugee of the gang wars._ Letting a small smile brace his lips naruto relaxed his rigid posture and slumped down in the nearest chair, now unafraid of the close proximity of the red-head. Gaara hesitated a moment before sitting down in the desk in front of Naruto and turning around to look at the relaxed blond.

Naruto noticed Gaara's gaze on him again and smiled at the red-head, "So what now?" he asked.

Gaara figured the question was about what was happening there so he answered, "Kankuro took over for me. He's a better leader then me anyway. And apparently _he_ has taken over for you." At the last sentence Gaara sharpened his stare at looked Naruto in the eyes, "Why did you let _him_ take over? Can't you imagine what must be happening to your gang in_ his _hands?" Now his voice carried over an accusation.

Naruto stiffened once again, his own gaze becoming hard. "_He_ is my family. Who else did you think I would leave the gang to?" he shot back.

"Anyone but_ him_."

"_He_ will make a good leader. People listen to him, they obey him. He has their respect. And he is strong. _He_ will be able to protect them from harm." Naruto explained his own reasoning. And true enough everyone knew that the one Naruto left the gang to _was_ strong – only one that could match him where Naruto.

"What if they need the protection FROM _him_? Without you there who will protect them?" Gaara forced the truth onto Naruto. Hoping to open Naruto's eyes to what was happening.

Naruto shook his head in exhaustion and frustration.

"Why are you so against it? What has he done to deserve that?" Naruto tried to defend his family. Because _he_ was the closest family member Naruto had left. The only family he talked to. Or at least he used to talk to, now he had broken contact with all his remaining family.

Gaara let out a sigh, "Nothing_ yet_. But I know him, he isn't meant to be a leader. Only as fighter." Gaara slumped a little in his own chair and crossed his arms in front of him, wanting to end this conversation. There was obviously no way to convince Naruto.

Naruto let out another frustrated sigh and shook his head. "Kyubi will protect them. He will. I know. He is my twin after all." Saying this naruto stood up and picked up his backpack from the desk he left it at. Slowly he made his ways between the desks to the doorway.

Gaara watched him exit, hiding his surprise at Naruto's revelation well. He had known that the two fighters of Fire, Naruto the Fox and Kyubi the Nine Tailed where strong. When they fought together they became unstoppable and became a legend – The Nine Tailed Fox. Truly an undefeatable duo. He wondered about them at times since he only saw them in battle and he had guessed they where related, maybe even brothers but never had he guessed that the two where twins! They looked nothing alike. Naruto had sunshine kissed skin, bright blond hair and blue eyes that shone when he smiled his fox-ish grin. Kyubi on the other hand had pale skin, bright red hair, brighter then even Gaara's own and dark eyes that seemed red when the light caught them. His hair was also messy but longer then Naruto's and fell around his face framing it. He often smiled but it was the smile of a predator faced with his prey, nothing like Naruto. And Naruto had those scars on his face, faint white lines that stood out against his tan skin while Kyubi's face was unmarred by any scars even after all the fights they had gotten into. Some might say they where even opposites had they met them in a different situation. But anyone that had seem the two fight together can see they where very much the same and very much in tune with one another.

Gaara stared at Naruto's retreating back as he walked out the door. Naruto had not lost his air of command and respect, Gaara was pleased to notice and he let a small almost unnoticeable smile creep on to his face. Maybe here at this school he will be able to find out more about him, the boy he had always admired from afar. Here he will be able to shake the hackles placed on him by Sasori and Sand and live for himself and _only_ himself. Just as Naruto was now doing.

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**A/N: Sorry fort he long wait but RL is filled with exams so bleh… And don't wait up for the next chapter because I am going on vacation for 2 months (YAY) and the next installment will probably be in September. I'll try to find a computer to use so I can at least write - maybe when I get back I'll have a couple chapters ready. ****Don't hold your breath though.**


	4. Chapter 4

Escaping the Past Chapter 4

**Escaping the Past Chapter 4**

**Warning:** Yaoi, AU (High School), Mention of violence  
**Characters/Pairing**: NaruSasu, implied Kiba/Shino, Gaara/??,

**Rating**: PG for this Chapter. M later.  
**Chapter Summary:** Naruto ponders about his meeting with Gaara and sorts out his 'misunderstanding' with Sasuke. Sasuke ends up going over to Naruto's apartment.

--

Letting the door shut behind him with a soft click, Naruto breathed in a breath of the light warm air of early fall. It felt like the first breath of a drowning, man and in a way it was. The conversation with Gaara left him drained and suffocating in thoughts he would rather not think, and memories he would rather not remember. As much as he valued family, even his own messed up one he did not want to think of them _now_. Not when he is trying to break contact with them and start him life over. Now when he is trying to escape from his ghosts.

Not when he is trying to escape _him_.

Leaving had to be the hardest thing Naruto ever did but he knew he had to if he was ever to move on with life and not live as a vessel for his brother's hatred as well as his brother's love(1). One person cannot take that kind of strain and Naruto was only that; a person. So he snapped – and left. He left his other half for the sake of both of them; he only hoped that Kyubi would see it that way too.

He knew that Kyubi only opened up with him and he knew that now he must feel abandoned and shut out but it had to be done if either one of them was ever going to recover and move on. Naruto needed reassurance of real life, of normalcy of the fact that not everyone was as messed up as him, and Kyubi needed to have time away from Naruto, who was a constant reminder of what they used to be, in order to forget. Both of them needed to break their masks and open up to people other then each other. Naruto needed to stop faking a smile even when he didn't feel like smiling and Kyubi needed to show others that there was more to him then his predatorily grin and blood lust. To that they needed to be apart, Naruto realized this and as much as it hurt - he left.

It seems unnatural for twins to be so different especially these twins. Identical twins. Considering their appearance one would think that they where strangers, maybe at most brothers. No one would guess that they where twins, much less identical twins. Before _that_ incident they where copies of each other both with blond hair, blue eyes and big smiles but now only one of them had retained that innocence.

Naruto and Kyubi know what they are to each other even though others don't see it, they know how close they are linked – knowing this only made it harder for Naruto to leave. Knowing that he was leaving his other half.

He let out a saddened sigh as he looked at the still green trees lining the school ground and let a hand rest on his navel. Itching to reach under the shirt and trace the scar that was still there after all these years, the scar that proved them as identical twins. They know that they are different now but once they where one egg and at birth they where even conjoined, luckily their mother's pregnancy was a prolonged one and they had separated almost fully only linked by the skin tissue around their belly buttons. After their separated the half circle scar remained.

Giving into the temptation to reassure himself, Naruto reached up under his untuck white uniform shirt and let his fingers trace the semi-circle, then moving on to trace the light indent of the tattoo there. He smiled at the feeling, remembering the day that he and Kuybi had gone to the tattoo parlor to get their scars turned into something more personal, something that identified them. This memory was one of the once that he would always cherish.

Shaking his head a little he made his way from the school toward the bus stop that would take him to his new…apartment. Naruto still couldn't call that place 'home' - not until he had unpacked the more personal items. For now those boxes where left standing by his bed while everything else was unpacked.

Seeing the bus he needs pull into the stop, Naruto is yanked out of his musings. He broke into a sprint waving his arm at the bus, hoping the driver will see it and wait for him. He makes it there breathing hard as he jumps onto a bus and fumbles with his backpack as the bus pulls out. He pulls out his wallet and flashes his pass before turning to look for an open seat. The bus is mostly empty since it goes to the area of cheap housing and apartments that are meant for student. Normally this means that the bus would be packed with students but since this is a fairly posh school the kids either live at home or in their own apartments. None of them have a need to rent. He notices maybe ten students and a certain dark haired head catches his eye. Or more like the hairstyle is what catches his eye and he makes his way towards that seat.

Plopping down into the seat beside the other student. He grins and reaches over to yank out the earphone in the raven's ear, successfully startling Sasuke who had not seen Naruto come in and forcing the raven to snap his face away from the window to look at the blond.

"Did you know you're hair looks like a duck butt?" Naruto asks over the loud rock music blaring out of the earphone.

Sasuke just glares and turned back to the window. He has yet to forgive Naruto for blatantly ignoring him.

Naruto seems to catch on to the anger Sasuke is radiating – which is unsurprisingly easy since Sasuke had the unrivaled Glare of Death in their school – and tries to prod what's wrong out of the raven.

"Sasuke." Poke, poke.

" Saaah-suke!" Poke, poke, poke, push, poke.

"Saasuuuke" Push _ hard._

"_Come on! _What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you just fucking_ look at me!"_ Okay so maybe Naruto wasn't the most patient ever but at least it worked to a degree when Sasuke snapped his head to face Naruto and glared harder – if that was possible -and yelled, _"What _do you _WANT??"_

"I _want _to know what the hell you're so angry about. I swear for a second there I thought you had laser beams for eyes!_" _Naruto glared back. Glaring in itself wasn't a very rare occurrence since he could do it pretty well to...say his enemies or...say people that offended his friends or only family _but _it was rare for him to glare at...say people he considered friends. And Sasuke was the first real friend – even if it was pretty one sided on Naruto's part - he had in a _long _time.

"Why the fuck do you care?" glare.

"Because I do." _Because you are my friend. _But Naruto kept that part to himself for now.

"Well you shouldn't" Sasuke snapped and turned his head away to face the window.

Naruto just ignored Sasuke and scooted closer, "Well I don't care about what I should do or shouldn't do. I do what I want. And right now I want to know what's wrong with you." Naruto said as he rested his head on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke just shrugged him of and sighed. He felt like this was a losing battle and no matter how well he could hold a grudge – and he could hold one for years – he couldn't seem to stay mad at the blond idiot._ Probably because he's so stupid that he doesn't even realize what he did…_Sasuke defended himself _The least I can do is enlighten him…_

With that thought Sasuke shifted slightly so that he was sitting straight and glanced at Naruto, "Who was the redhead in English class?" he asked. It wasn't like the raven was going to come right out and say he had been jealous and wanted attention. That would be far too humiliating. Though this straight out question wasn't exactly subtle either, but that can be blamed at Sasuke's inability to socialize. This was he could at least find out why the redhead was important enough to draw Narutos attention from him. And if asked why he wanted to know he can still blindly deny being interested. Hopefully the explanation Naruto gave was good enough for he could forgive the blond for ignoring him. If not….well even Sasuke didn't want to think about that. He enjoyed Naruto's company – even if the blond was childish and an idiot – far too much to _not_ forgive him.

"Oh, Gaara?" Naruto asked in confusion. It was an odd thing to bring up and Naruto wondered for a second how he should answer. Deciding to go with a more or less honest answer he hesitantly said, "He's someone I know from my old school. We weren't on the best of terms when I left so I was surprised to see him here, but I worked everything out." He grinned, "Don't worry about it."

Sasuke noticed the loophole. Or maybe not exactly a loophole but an unlikely coincidence in Naruto's answer, "If he went to your old school before, why is he here now. Especialy if you two didn't get along?" he asked.

"Ummm..it's just…Gaara had…family issues…and this summer he decided to leave. So since he knew I was coming here, he must have decided to follow me. Just for the sake of having a familiar face around…"

"But I thought you two didn't like each other."

"We don't…or didn't. We never really got to know each other. We were just expected to hate each other because of our…families…but now it's different. Both of us have cut ties with our families so we can try being friends for once." Naruto grinned at the end. He was finding it funny how he kept referring to the gangs as families because in a sense that's what they were to them and to many of the kids in them. Though, if they were really families, they would probably by the most dysfunctional families around.

Sasuke nodded in agreement. He could relate to family feuds. He and Neji were expected to hate each other. They don't hate each other so much anymore but they did back in elementary and middle school. Now Sasuke found the whole ancient feud redundant, especially with his parents not there anymore. He and his brother hardly counted as a prestigious family anymore. They were just two orphans left with their own company and huge trust funds. Which Sasuke despised because he couldn't get to them until his 18th birthday and had to live off his monthly allowance that he relieves through the bank. But anything was better than relying on his brother for money.

Naruto grin widened at Sasuke's nod, "Is that all you wanted to know then? You aren't mad anymore right?" he asked

Sasuke just shot Naruto a halfhearted glare and grumbled out, "Whatever you say dobe."

"Teme!" Naruto automatically responded.

Their petty fight, if it can even be called a fight, was instantly forgotten and instead Naruto grabbed the forgotten earphone that he had pulled from Sasuke's ear and put it on. All the while complaining to himself about angry kids and their angry music as he settled into his seat to wait for his stop. Sasuke just ignored the comments and turned to watch the drab scenery pass by.

--

Naruto saw his area up ahead and saw his apartment building come into view, "I have to get off at the next stop" he said simply.

"Hn" Sasuke responded.

Naruto didn't even notice the response, "Hey hey, teme!" He exclaimed in excitement as he got up from his seat, "I'm supposed to do your uniform anyway, so wanna come over now? I can start on it." Nature offered.

Sasuke looked up at Narutos hopeful face. He wanted to go with Naruto, wanted to see where he lived, wanted to see him work on his uniform. He just wanted to know more about the blond. But he didn't know if he could take staying that close to the blond, alone, for so long.

The temptation won out in the end and he agreed with a roll of his eyes, "Fine I'll come. No reason to beg."

Naruto just smirked in triumph, "I wasn't begging and you know it. You just wanted to come."

"Hn"

Naruto continued to grin as he pulled Sasuke up by the arm in his excitement and practically dragged the raven of the bus, "Let's go, let's go!"

They made their way to the apartment building that was just across the street from the bus stop. The building was unremarkable. Just a slab is rectangular concrete with the number painted on. The typical cheap housing complex. Naruto unlocked the door to the equally unremarkable lobby and led them to the one elevator. The door slid open and Naruto walked in pulling Sasuke by the sleeve behind him. The elevator was dirty and small. The florescent lighting on the ceiling was bared and one bulb broken. The metal walls had crude comments carved in but Naruto didn't seem to notice. He didn't notice how they barely had any space between them either or how his bent knee just barely brushed Sasuke's leg and his hand was still holding onto Sasuke's sleeve, ready to pull him out. Sasuke on the other hand noticed everything and it only put his nerves more on edge. If he couldn't focus just from being in a confining space with the blond for less than a minute how was he supposed to deal with spending the next couple hours in the blondes presence? Alone. Together.

Thankfully he was spared any more embarrassment as the doors slid opened and Naruto hastily pulled them out and led them down the hall to the last door on the right.

Sasuke just had enough time to notice the number on the door; 804 and file it away for future reference when Naruto had the lock undone and the door opened, "Ta-da! We're here." He said cheerfully and stepped in, beckoning Sasuke in behind him, "Make yourself at home. I live by myself and I wasn't expecting guests so it's kind of messy. I hope you don't mind."

Naruto slipped his sneakers off with practiced ease and dropped his backpack on the floor as he made his way inside. Sasuke did the same and quickly followed Naruto. The apartment was small and filled with junk. There was one room that dubbed as both the living room and bedroom, a small kitchen of to the side and from what Sasuke could guess – a washroom and a closet on the to the other side, judging by the closed doors.

They made their way into the relatively clean kitchen. The counter was filled with appliances and jars of necessities such as tea, coffee and cereal. But otherwise it was clean. No half eaten food or dirty plates. Sasuke was impressed. Though in reality he shouldn't have been since the only reason for that is that Naruto had yet to make a mean involving anything other than instant noodles- which came with their own plastic bowl - since he moved.

"You want anything to drink?" Naruto askes casualy as he opens the fridge, "I have water, coke, and ummmm….yeah. That's it." He throws a sheepish smile over his shoulder at Sasuke who is lounging against the counter. The raven just rolls his eyes and replies with a simple "Coke".

They get their drinks and Naruto quickly ushers his guest into the living-room/bedroom.

"Sorry for the mess, I was in a bit of a rush this morning." He quickly kicks all the clothes, towels, pillows and other miscellaneous objects into a pile by his bed. Then from seemingly nowhere, though Sasuke later realizes it was probably from under the bed, he produces a large dark orange throw and drapes it over the mess of blankets and pillows in an attempt to make it look presentable. Instead it just looks orange and lumpy.

"Sit down, make yourself at home," Naruto says cheerfully, "I'm just going to go get some stuff and then we can start."

It takes Sasuke a moment to figure out what the blond is talking about. _Start what?_ Then it hits him. The whole reason he is here is because of his stupid ill-fitting uniform and the 'deal' that the blond forced on him. Not that he minded. If it gets him a better uniform that he wouldn't feel embarrassed walking in to school then it can't be all bad, right? _Plus this way I get to spend more time with Naruto. _

He is yanked out of his mussing by a heavy spiraled bound sketchbook landing on his lap and Naruto's voice telling him to go to the last used page. Sasuke follows the instructions automatically, all the while keeping his eyes on the blond who has traveled over to one of the closed doors and with a determined look on his face yanks the door open. A _flood_ of clothes, materials, boxes, bags, ets comes spilling out of the closet. The noise makes Sasuke jump slightly and he looks up with surprised eyes at the blond who just smiles at him and goes to work rifting through the pile, every couple second pulling out a seemingly random scrap or two.

Finally about ten minutes later Naruto straightens up and scoops the small pile into his hands. He walks over the bed and bumps it next to Sasuke.

"So. This is what's going to happen." Naruto states in an exited voice. Sasuke just stares at him then at the drawing in his lap then at the pile beside him, trying to connect how the blond expects to make all that junk into what he promised in the picture.

--

(1) I mean the "brother's hatred" in verbal and emotional abuse only. Not physical. And I mean "brother's love" in a platonic, family sense as well. There will not be any incest because I don't wanna screw Naruto's life up any more then I have to.

--

**A/N: **Sorry this took SOOOO long. But I have stopped reading Naruto for the last…god knows how long. I only recently started reading a _few_ fics from the fandom again. so I felt the need to write this. It's kind of short-ish. But I have a general sense of where I'm going with this. All the major events are planned out, I just need to manage to get to them. Hopefully this writing mood, that I am in right now, will last at least a couple more weeks, or even days, and I don't get sidetracked by my boring life again and forget all my plans for this fic.

**Read and Review please.**


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